Part two of Ric Bowman's article published in the Nov/Dec 2009 #202 issue of the Fouling Shot.
My thoughts on reloading cast bullets for the 32/20
This cartridge has been one of my favorites over thelast thirty years and I have loaded thousands of roundsfor revolver and rifle.
The basics are the same reloading tasks required forany other small rimmed cartridge. The actuality ofreloading this cartridge is another matter. It is not for thefaint of heart or those that need to crank out a thousandrounds an evening on their Dillon press.
Even though there are SAMMI specifications for thecartridge, I have never seen a gun chamberedthat way. After all, they have been making32/20s for over 125 years! Chambers arelarger in diameter and longer. Headspace isgiven at 0.065. However case rim thicknessrun between 0.042 for WW stamped onesand 0.048 for Starline made ones. You willalways have excessive headspace with fulllength resized cases, but that is a solvableproblem.
Reloading die manufacturers make diesthat will resize cases smaller than the SAMMIspecifications and expand necks only enoughto seat 0.310 jacketed bullets with lots of necktension. If I was starting all over again, I wouldbuy RCBS Cowboy dies made for cast bullets,then send three fired cases and threebullets I wanted to reload back to the RCBSfactory. They will adjust your dies and makethem work like they should. However, youmay have to make your own expander. Theexpander needs to be only 0.001 smallerthan the bullet. If you try to seat a 0.314 bullet with acase that has been expanded with a 0.308 expander,you will get a 0.309/0.310 bullet. The expander has tobe 0.001 smaller than the bullet or you are wasting yourtime and effort.
Added to the dimensional problem is the shape ofthe cartridge. It is longer than a 38 Special case and a lotnarrower so there is lots of room for the powder to movefront to rear inside the case. Shooting loads over achronograph is very interesting, as variations of over 175feet per second are possible just by tipping the barrel upor down before the shot. Fillers are not the answer for meas they break the case in half at the shoulder (rememberthe headspace issue?) after just two or three reloadings.
Well, lets get down to cases (pun intended) with fourof my favorite 32/20s and what ammo they shoot welland how I make it. I use a TC Contender barrel as thestandard for case resizing as it is the smallest chambered32/20 I own. The barrel is removed and used as agauge. The sizing die is lowered until a fired case will gointo the chamber a couple of thousandths below the backof the barrel, in effect headspacing off the shoulder of thecase. This amount of sizing works just fine with all theother guns and is used for all loads. The following loadswork in my guns and with my reloading techniques andpowder charges, but you are responsible for your ownreloading and safety in your guns!
My thoughts on reloading cast bullets for the 32/20
This cartridge has been one of my favorites over thelast thirty years and I have loaded thousands of roundsfor revolver and rifle.
The basics are the same reloading tasks required forany other small rimmed cartridge. The actuality ofreloading this cartridge is another matter. It is not for thefaint of heart or those that need to crank out a thousandrounds an evening on their Dillon press.
Even though there are SAMMI specifications for thecartridge, I have never seen a gun chamberedthat way. After all, they have been making32/20s for over 125 years! Chambers arelarger in diameter and longer. Headspace isgiven at 0.065. However case rim thicknessrun between 0.042 for WW stamped onesand 0.048 for Starline made ones. You willalways have excessive headspace with fulllength resized cases, but that is a solvableproblem.
Reloading die manufacturers make diesthat will resize cases smaller than the SAMMIspecifications and expand necks only enoughto seat 0.310 jacketed bullets with lots of necktension. If I was starting all over again, I wouldbuy RCBS Cowboy dies made for cast bullets,then send three fired cases and threebullets I wanted to reload back to the RCBSfactory. They will adjust your dies and makethem work like they should. However, youmay have to make your own expander. Theexpander needs to be only 0.001 smallerthan the bullet. If you try to seat a 0.314 bullet with acase that has been expanded with a 0.308 expander,you will get a 0.309/0.310 bullet. The expander has tobe 0.001 smaller than the bullet or you are wasting yourtime and effort.
Added to the dimensional problem is the shape ofthe cartridge. It is longer than a 38 Special case and a lotnarrower so there is lots of room for the powder to movefront to rear inside the case. Shooting loads over achronograph is very interesting, as variations of over 175feet per second are possible just by tipping the barrel upor down before the shot. Fillers are not the answer for meas they break the case in half at the shoulder (rememberthe headspace issue?) after just two or three reloadings.
Well, lets get down to cases (pun intended) with fourof my favorite 32/20s and what ammo they shoot welland how I make it. I use a TC Contender barrel as thestandard for case resizing as it is the smallest chambered32/20 I own. The barrel is removed and used as agauge. The sizing die is lowered until a fired case will gointo the chamber a couple of thousandths below the backof the barrel, in effect headspacing off the shoulder of thecase. This amount of sizing works just fine with all theother guns and is used for all loads. The following loadswork in my guns and with my reloading techniques andpowder charges, but you are responsible for your ownreloading and safety in your guns!
First lets talk about my oldest revolver. It is an early1905 Model S&W Hand Ejector with a 6 1/2 inch barreland round butt, made in 1906. The bore and chamberthroats are what gun traders call dark but serviceable,other wise known as pitted. But the action is very crispand lock up is tight. It also has a plain steel cylinder,unhardened and soft. It would probably be classed as ablack powder gun and nothing you would want to hot rod.
1906 6 1/2 inch and
1941 6 inch S&Ws in 32-20
1941 6 inch S&Ws in 32-20
I did not have high hopes for it as a shooter, but itcertainly surprised me with the loads it likes. It uses mystandard resized cases and Federal Small Rifle (#200)primers. Small rifle primers are only used for their thickercup. The hole in the standing breech that the firing pingoes through is very large and pistol primers flow backaround the firing pin. It is probably a case of void spaceand excessive headspace, but the SR primer solves thatissue.
Cases must be trimmed to a consistent length for thisgun and its loads; short is OK, but they must be thesame. It likes two bullets; the RCBS 98 grain SWC andthe Lyman #313492 full wadcutter that are cast fromWWs and a touch of added tin. Both are sized 0.314,the same as the throat, and lubed with any soft greasylube. The Lyman is crimped very lightly in its crimpgroove and the RCBS is lightly crimped just over the frontof the first band to fit the length of the cylinder. This brassis thin, and if you feel the crimp shoulder in the dies, it istoo much. Use a micrometer, as 0.003 is just the rightamount of crimp.
The powder charge is critical: 3.1 grains of newAlliant Bullseye in Remington or Winchester cases, or 3.0grains in Starline cases. No other powder even comesclose to hitting at point of aim or making as small of groups. These loads are both 765 feet per second andgood for 2 groups at 25 yards all day long.
Cases must be trimmed to a consistent length for thisgun and its loads; short is OK, but they must be thesame. It likes two bullets; the RCBS 98 grain SWC andthe Lyman #313492 full wadcutter that are cast fromWWs and a touch of added tin. Both are sized 0.314,the same as the throat, and lubed with any soft greasylube. The Lyman is crimped very lightly in its crimpgroove and the RCBS is lightly crimped just over the frontof the first band to fit the length of the cylinder. This brassis thin, and if you feel the crimp shoulder in the dies, it istoo much. Use a micrometer, as 0.003 is just the rightamount of crimp.
The powder charge is critical: 3.1 grains of newAlliant Bullseye in Remington or Winchester cases, or 3.0grains in Starline cases. No other powder even comesclose to hitting at point of aim or making as small of groups. These loads are both 765 feet per second andgood for 2 groups at 25 yards all day long.
L-R, Lyman 313492, RCBS 98 grain SWC, Lyman311316 (modified to remove gascheck), Lyman311576, Lyman 311440
My other favorite revolver is also an S&W, with a sixinch barrel and square grips. It was made in 1940 or1941 and is less than 200 from the last one made. It hasa heat-treated cylinder, the change having been made onSeptember 2, 1919 at serial number 81,287. The chambersand bore are in beautiful condition and best of allthey are the same dimensions as the earlier one. But thesights are the later square topped front and square notchrear groove.
It doesnt shoot the older guns loads to the same point of impact. The first bullet that worked well was the Ideal #311316, a 112 grain gas checked design. This was one of the first bullets ever made for gas checks and especially for the 32/20. The gas checks worked at high speeds, less than perfect bores and soft alloys. The bullet also has a crimp groove for smokeless powder and tube magazine rifles.
My old mould was made with a sharply tapered heel for use with press on type gas checks that were hard to find. Crimp on gas checks never seated flat on the base and many were cocked at an angle. A trip to the lathe solved that problem with a bullet that is now plain based and sizes smoothly at 0.314 cast from WWs plus tin and weighing 116 grains. The lube groove is small and without the space above the gas check, a good quality lube is required. NRA formula beeswax and Alox or better commercial lubes works well.
Now that I had a bullet that works, I went through the powders normally used; Bullseye, 700X, SR7625, Unique and SR4756. Two loads, 4.5 grains of Unique and 4.5 grains of SR7625, would shoot good groups if the powders were positioned in the case. Chronograph data shows that wide velocity differences (750 to 840 feet per second) show up on the target as high and low hits. Neither small pistol magnum nor small rifle primers would reduce extreme spread to less than 90 feet per second at random powder positions. Also, all of these loads shot three to four inches high and two inches left at 25 yards.
Ken Waters Pet Loads, from Wolfe Publications, hasa good write up on 32/20 pistols. Mr. Waters pet load is6.0 grains of SR4756. My concern was that it was wellabove anyone elses listed load for that powder.Cautiously, I worked up to his loading. At 5.8 grains Ifound my pet load with standard small pistol primers. Itshoots to point of aim for elevation and is at the left edgeof the front sight at 25 yards. Cases fall out of the cylinderif you tip the gun up. Bench rested groups are twoinches at 50 yards and velocity is very close to 945 feet per second regardless of powder position.
My favorite rifle is one of only two American boltactions ever made for the 32/20, the other being theWinchester Model 43. They must have made a hundredSavage Model 23Cs for every Winchester. My Model23C was made about 1930 so was probably never firedwith corrosive primers or black powder. The bore is likenew and locking lug and bolt handle tight and solid. Theoutside shows some wear and use, but all in all its a verynice rifle.
My old mould was made with a sharply tapered heel for use with press on type gas checks that were hard to find. Crimp on gas checks never seated flat on the base and many were cocked at an angle. A trip to the lathe solved that problem with a bullet that is now plain based and sizes smoothly at 0.314 cast from WWs plus tin and weighing 116 grains. The lube groove is small and without the space above the gas check, a good quality lube is required. NRA formula beeswax and Alox or better commercial lubes works well.
Now that I had a bullet that works, I went through the powders normally used; Bullseye, 700X, SR7625, Unique and SR4756. Two loads, 4.5 grains of Unique and 4.5 grains of SR7625, would shoot good groups if the powders were positioned in the case. Chronograph data shows that wide velocity differences (750 to 840 feet per second) show up on the target as high and low hits. Neither small pistol magnum nor small rifle primers would reduce extreme spread to less than 90 feet per second at random powder positions. Also, all of these loads shot three to four inches high and two inches left at 25 yards.
Ken Waters Pet Loads, from Wolfe Publications, hasa good write up on 32/20 pistols. Mr. Waters pet load is6.0 grains of SR4756. My concern was that it was wellabove anyone elses listed load for that powder.Cautiously, I worked up to his loading. At 5.8 grains Ifound my pet load with standard small pistol primers. Itshoots to point of aim for elevation and is at the left edgeof the front sight at 25 yards. Cases fall out of the cylinderif you tip the gun up. Bench rested groups are twoinches at 50 yards and velocity is very close to 945 feet per second regardless of powder position.
My favorite rifle is one of only two American boltactions ever made for the 32/20, the other being theWinchester Model 43. They must have made a hundredSavage Model 23Cs for every Winchester. My Model23C was made about 1930 so was probably never firedwith corrosive primers or black powder. The bore is likenew and locking lug and bolt handle tight and solid. Theoutside shows some wear and use, but all in all its a verynice rifle.
The Bullseye load is 1035 f.p.s. and the SR4756 loadis 1315 f.p.s. from its 25 inch barrel. The Bullseye load isexceptionally quiet and ear muffs probably arentrequired. It is perfect for shooting around livestock or builtup areas. The SR4756 load recreates the black powderload performance and is good at least up to 100 yards.But bullet drop rears it head, as drop with a 50 yard zerois about 4-1/2 inches at 100 yards.
Savage 23C
Two new loads were created for this rifle. A duplicate of the old 32 WCF High Velocity load was pretty easy to make. A Lyman #311316 bullet, with gas check, was cast from WWs and 2% tin sized 0.312 and lubed with NRA formula lube. This very late Lyman mould has a gas check shank that works well with Hornady crimp on gas checks. Another good thing about this mould is that itcasts bullets at .312 inches, the best size for the Savagerifle. The load is 14.0 grains of Norma 200, with Federal200 primers. While I tried IMR 4198, H4227 and AA1680powders, they never gave me as good of accuracy asNorma 200.
The nice part about this load is that it maximizes thepotential of the 115 grain bullet at 1650 f.p.s. Zeroed 1-1/4 high at 50 yards; it is 1 low at 100 yards and 3 lowat 125 yards.
Paco Kellys #311440 heavy bullet load always fascinatedme for some reason, but I hesitated loading thelittle round that hot. My heavy bullet load also usesLymans #311440 bullet. This stubby bullet is made like asoda can with rings and is short enough to stabilize in the1 in 20 twist of the Savage rifle. It is made from 1/3 WWand tin alloy mixed with 2/3 scrap lead and weighs 154grains from the mould. I have a lot of IMR SR4759 powdersaved up for benchrest match loads and used this forthe heavy bullet. A load of 9.0 grains of SR4759 will pusha 154 grain bullet 1495 f.p.s. with 2 MOA accuracy.Sighted in 1 inch high at 50 yards it is 1 inch low at 100yards. Hmmm. That sounds like original 357 Magnumrevolver performance to me!
The last is probably the most versatile 32/20, a TCContender with 10 inch bull barrel and a Leopold 2Xscope. It has the tightest chamber and is the one used forsetting up the sizing die for all the brass for all the guns.This barrel is 0.308 groove diameter with a one turn inten inches twist. The worst this pistol has ever shot wasR-P factory jacketed loads, a five shot 50 yard group of4-1/4 in freezing temperatures and a 20 MPH crosswind.Other than that one group, it has shot all the other gunsloads well, very well! Even the heavy bullet load goes1200 f.p.s., with an extreme spread of 15 f.p.s., and willmake 1-1/2 50 yard groups if I can hold it.
I wish a really good Contender shot would shoot itsfavorite load to see what it could really do. That load usesLyman #311576, a 120 grain gas checked round nosewith two wide deep grease groves. The bullet is seatedlong into the throat and you have to push the case in withyour thumb. Powder charge is 6.0 grains of SR4756 andsmall rifle primers are used. It will shoot 50 yard groupsthat are covered by the intersecting crosshairs of thescope. I just wish I could shoot as well as that pistol canshoot!
Am I done? Am I tired of playing with this little cartridgeafter 30 years? Nope! Waiting for the spring thawis an original Marlin 1889 Safety with a new Marlin32/20 CL barrel I installed last summer. Except for matchshooting and big game hunting, it still seems to be agreat little cartridge to me. But perhaps Henry M.Stebbins said it best in his 1947 book Small Game &Varmint Rifles: Were it not for the fact that this nearlyobsolete cartridge continues to give satisfaction to agreat many shooters, it need not have been mentioned atall. �20
The nice part about this load is that it maximizes thepotential of the 115 grain bullet at 1650 f.p.s. Zeroed 1-1/4 high at 50 yards; it is 1 low at 100 yards and 3 lowat 125 yards.
Paco Kellys #311440 heavy bullet load always fascinatedme for some reason, but I hesitated loading thelittle round that hot. My heavy bullet load also usesLymans #311440 bullet. This stubby bullet is made like asoda can with rings and is short enough to stabilize in the1 in 20 twist of the Savage rifle. It is made from 1/3 WWand tin alloy mixed with 2/3 scrap lead and weighs 154grains from the mould. I have a lot of IMR SR4759 powdersaved up for benchrest match loads and used this forthe heavy bullet. A load of 9.0 grains of SR4759 will pusha 154 grain bullet 1495 f.p.s. with 2 MOA accuracy.Sighted in 1 inch high at 50 yards it is 1 inch low at 100yards. Hmmm. That sounds like original 357 Magnumrevolver performance to me!
The last is probably the most versatile 32/20, a TCContender with 10 inch bull barrel and a Leopold 2Xscope. It has the tightest chamber and is the one used forsetting up the sizing die for all the brass for all the guns.This barrel is 0.308 groove diameter with a one turn inten inches twist. The worst this pistol has ever shot wasR-P factory jacketed loads, a five shot 50 yard group of4-1/4 in freezing temperatures and a 20 MPH crosswind.Other than that one group, it has shot all the other gunsloads well, very well! Even the heavy bullet load goes1200 f.p.s., with an extreme spread of 15 f.p.s., and willmake 1-1/2 50 yard groups if I can hold it.
I wish a really good Contender shot would shoot itsfavorite load to see what it could really do. That load usesLyman #311576, a 120 grain gas checked round nosewith two wide deep grease groves. The bullet is seatedlong into the throat and you have to push the case in withyour thumb. Powder charge is 6.0 grains of SR4756 andsmall rifle primers are used. It will shoot 50 yard groupsthat are covered by the intersecting crosshairs of thescope. I just wish I could shoot as well as that pistol canshoot!
Am I done? Am I tired of playing with this little cartridgeafter 30 years? Nope! Waiting for the spring thawis an original Marlin 1889 Safety with a new Marlin32/20 CL barrel I installed last summer. Except for matchshooting and big game hunting, it still seems to be agreat little cartridge to me. But perhaps Henry M.Stebbins said it best in his 1947 book Small Game &Varmint Rifles: Were it not for the fact that this nearlyobsolete cartridge continues to give satisfaction to agreat many shooters, it need not have been mentioned atall. �20